After being awarded a $9.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), the city of Decatur, Ill., will plant 2,000 acres of industrial hemp to improve water quality and remediate soil as part of its water quality improvement plan.

The grant from RCPP “seeks to reduce sediment and nitrates in the Mississippi River Basin Critical Conservation Area, including Lake Decatur watershed. The program aims to reduce up to 50% of the sediment and 20% of the nitrate nitrogen annually flowing into Lake Decatur, which costs the city tens of millions of dollars to dredge every few years,” according to a press release.

The five-year, climate-smart hemp pilot project will consist of planting fiber industrial hemp seeds—donated from TigerFiber, a hemp processing company in Missouri—within targeted sub watersheds and land parcels, according to the release.

“We want to plant this hemp in areas where it can be seen from the road by farmers driving past,” said James Forbes, TigerFiber COO and co-founder.

The project will also receive technical assistance, cash and in-kind partner donations from the National Hemp Association (NHA) and Hemp Innovations Foundation. In addition, the NHA is working alongside the City of Decatur and the Illinois Hemp Growers Association (IHGA) to develop the project.

The NHA said in a press release the project will “accelerate the hemp industry in Illinois and demonstrate the positive environmental and economic benefits.”

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A U.S. district judge has dismissed Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s lawsuit challenging the federal laws that govern medical cannabis and firearms.

Judge Allen Winsor granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to dismiss the case, which claimed that current regulations that prohibit medical cannabis patients from buying and possessing guns violate Second Amendment rights, according to a CBS Miami report.

Winsor issued the 22-page ruling Nov. 4, the news outlet reported.

Fried announced her plan to sue the Biden administration in April, taking aim at a conflict between state and federal law. While Florida’s 2016 medical cannabis law allows registered patients to legally purchase and use cannabis in the state, it remains illegal at the federal level, and federal laws prohibit those who use illegal drugs from buying and possessing firearms.

“No patient should have to choose between their medicine and employment, or a roof over their head, or access to capital—or their constitutional rights,” Fried said in a public statement upon filing the lawsuit earlier this year. “While we continue to call for full cannabis legalization to resolve the many issues caused by irrational, inconsistent, and incoherent federal cannabis policies, we are here today to announce we are filing suit against the federal government over its violation of patients’ Second Amendment rights due to federal law deeming it illegal for a medical marijuana cardholder to purchase a firearm.”

When cannabis MSOs Cresco Labs and Columbia Care announced their $2 billion M&A agreement at the end of March, many in the industry wondered how they would sort out their overlapping cultivation and retail footprints in key markets like New York and Florida, where current regulations would require them to sell off certain licenses and assets for the blockbuster deal to go through.

After more than seven months, Cresco and Columbia Care have moved forward in three of those states, which have some of the most lucrative market potential in the U.S. On Nov. 4, the companies announced they would sell 9 dispensaries and three production facilities in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts to Sean “Diddy” Combs, better known as “Puff Daddy,” a cultural icon to the generation of listeners who grew up with his music in the 1990s and early 2000s. His well-known spirits brand Ciroc Vodka is just one component of Combs Enterprises, which includes fashion, television, music and fragrance brands and investments. The transaction is expected to close at $185 million.

Nick Vita, CEO of Columbia Care, said the decision to sell the licenses, which are a mix of both Columbia Care and Cresco facilities, to Combs in the divestiture process was multifaceted, and Vita called the deal “a massive, massive feather in the industry’s cap.”

“Ultimately, the decision was made that we did not want to go to the usual suspects. We didn’t want to go to another cannabis operator. We wanted to bring in a new entrepreneurial spirit,” Vita told Cannabis Business Times during a call the day the deal was announced Nov. 4. "We really wanted to sort of focus on the concept of diversity and bringing that into cannabis.”

In a press release, the companies said the transaction would create “the first minority-owned and operated, vertically integrated multistate operator,” something that was a focus for the team, according to Vita and Charlie Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs.

CBT spoke with Vita and Bachtell about how the deal came together, how they are approaching other markets that will require them to divest and what might come next as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care work to make the acquisition final.

Despite Texas law forbidding citizen-initiated measures from appearing on statewide ballots, voters took action to decriminalize cannabis at the local level in five cities on Election Day.

Voters in Denton, Killeen, San Marcos, Elgin and Harker Heights—with a combined population of more than 400,000 residents—approved initiatives Nov. 8 to reform their laws, restricting local police departments’ ability to enforce low-level cannabis offenses.

At the state level, possessing 2 ounces or less of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days of incarceration and a maximum fine of $2,000, according to reform group NORML. Possessing more than 4 ounces is a felony offense.

“Texans have shown that they want major cannabis law reforms in Texas via polling, legislative engagement, and now at the local ballot box,” Texas NORML Executive Director Jax James said in a public statement.

“This will have a positive impact on the almost half a million people living in these cities,” James said. “While these local advancements are important in mitigating harm on citizens and reprioritizing law enforcement time, they result in a patchwork of differing marijuana enforcement policies based on location. It is time for lawmakers to take steps to enact statewide reform when they convene in January 2023.”

The five cities where voters approved decriminalization measures on Tuesday follow in the footsteps of Austin, Texas, where voters approved a similar decriminalized measure with an 85.5% majority in May, according to the city’s Office of the City Clerk.

DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 7, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - JARS Cannabis, a privately held, multi-state operating cannabis brand and retailer, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Euflora LLC, a premier collective of boutique recreational cannabis dispensaries in Colorado. Adding one cultivation center and greenhouse, along with 6 recreational storefronts to its portfolio, the completion of the transaction will increase JARS' retail operations to include a total of 26 storefronts across three states and solidify its positioning as a purveyor of affordable and accessible cannabis products in the nation's second and third largest cannabis markets.

"Since the inception of JARS Cannabis, it has been our mission to deliver only the highest quality of products and service to our community and customers," said JARS Cannabis COO, Raymond Abro. "In this evolving industry, the move to acquire Euflora demonstrates a strategic opportunity for JARS to service new customers as we continue to expand our retail footprint across the nation while aiming to create new jobs and increase access to affordable and accessible recreational cannabis products for all," Arbo said.

The timely announcement comes one day after cannabis advocates and industry leaders commemorated the 10th anniversary of when voters in Colorado moved to pass Proposition 64, legalizing the sale, possession, and consumption of recreational cannabis under the state's constitution.

"We are pleased to join forces with JARS Cannabis to pursue a shared vision for the future of cannabis retail through sustainable expansion in core recreational markets," said Euflora COO, Scott Rybicki. "Today marks a transformative moment in the evolution of Euflora, and we anticipate this acquisition will drive significant leadership, operational, and retail opportunities amongst both parties to better meet the varying needs of our combined staff and loyal customer base."

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U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., announced plans last week to introduce legislation that would set up a regulatory framework in preparation for federal cannabis legalization.

Hickenlooper’s Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment (PREPARE) Act is a Senate companion to legislation Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, introduced in the House in April.

“Federal marijuana legalization doesn’t need to start from scratch and we should prepare for it now,” Hickenlooper tweeted Nov. 3. “Today we introduced the PREPARE Act, a bipartisan bill to pave the way for the federal regulation of marijuana once legalization arrives.”

The bill directs the attorney general to develop regulations that would be enacted as soon as the federal government legalizes cannabis.

“I’m thrilled that the PREPARE Act will be introduced in the Senate, making it not only further bipartisan, but bicameral, and bringing it one step closer to becoming law,” Joyce said in a public statement. “This legislation gives lawmakers on both sides of the aisle the answers they need to effectively engage on cannabis reform, safely and effectively regulate it, and remedy the harms caused by the failed war on cannabis. With those answers, Congress can develop a much-needed federal regulatory framework that not only respects the unique needs, rights, and laws of each state, but also ensures a responsible end to prohibition and a safer future for our communities. I was proud to lead the introduction of this commonsense bill in the House and thank Sen. Hickenlooper for advancing it in the Senate. I look forward to continuing to work together to pave the way for more comprehensive reform.”

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as election results come in.

Voters will determine the future of adult-use cannabis legalization in five states today, a high-water mark for cannabis reform attempts at the ballot box.

If Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota all pass their ballot measures, it would bring the total number of states with adult use up to 24–a number that represents almost half the states in the U.S.

Each of these ballot measures would set a foundation for an adult-use cultivation and retail program except for that in South Dakota, which would legalize possession, use, distribution and home cultivation. (However, South Dakota’s measure does not mention a licensing structure or regulation for businesses.)

This will represent a groundbreaking election season for cannabis. Nearly half the country legalizing adult-use cannabis is a significant feat in its own right–it would mean a majority of the U.S. population supports cannabis reform (a notion supported by many studies, such as a 2019 Pew Research study that found two-thirds of Americans support legalization).

Notably, four of the five states with adult-use measures this year–Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota–are conservative states, indicating growing bipartisan support on an issue that has been traditionally championed by Democrats.

South Dakota voters have a second chance to make their voices heard on an adult-use cannabis legalization measure, after the state’s Supreme Court struck down the adult-use initiative that passed in the 2020 election.

If passed, Initiated Measure 27 would legalize the possession, use and distribution of up to 1 ounce of cannabis or 8 grams of concentrate for adults 21 and older. It would also allow adults to grow up to three cannabis plants at home, with no more than six plants allowed per private residence, but only in private residences located in jurisdictions where there are no licensed dispensaries.

Measure 27 does not set a foundation for a commercial adult-use cannabis cultivation or retail program; there is no mention of a regulatory authority, licensing system or taxation structure in the initiative. That was by design.

RELATED: 2022 Election Preview: South Dakota Voters Get Second Chance at Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization

North Dakotans are voting today on Measure 2, the state’s 2022 adult-use cannabis legalization initiative.

Polls close at 7 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. MT.

Make sure to refresh this page, where we will provide updates on North Dakota’s Measure 2 throughout the night. Read the full initiative here.

If supported by voters, the 2022 ballot proposal will legalize the possession of up to 1 ounce of cannabis, 4 grams of concentrate and up to 500 milligrams of THC in an infused product, as well as the personal cultivation of up to three cannabis plants at private residences. 

The initiative also aims to establish a licensed industry for cultivation, processing, retail and testing laboratories, requiring the Department of Health and Human Services, or another department or agency designated by the state Legislature, to establish a licensed program by Oct. 1, 2023. Under the measure, seven cultivation facilities and 18 retailers would be licensed. 

A July poll from The Dickinson Press surveying southwest North Dakota readers found that 39% of respondents said they supported the measure, 43% were opposed and 18% were apathetic. Sentiments in the area may have changed over four years, the newspaper suggests; a similar poll the paper conducted in 2018 saw southwestern North Dakotans supported that year’s adult-use legalization measure 60% to 40%. That 2018 poll result reflected the inverse of the ultimate statewide vote outcome, a 59%-to-41% defeat, for adult-use legalization that year.

Missouri voters have their first shot at adult-use cannabis legalization this Election Day via Amendment 3, a proposal that has drawn myriad support and opposition from throughout the state leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

Polls close 7 p.m. CT in Missouri, which is one of five states where adult-use reform is on the table.

Stay tuned to this page, where we will provide updates on election returns throughout the night as well as reactions from stakeholders on the ground in Missouri, including the amendment’s backers: Legal Missouri 2022.

In 2018, Missouri voters approved a medical cannabis initiative with a 65.6% majority. Now, recent polling for Amendment 3 suggests the state is on the brink of expanding upon that reform to full legalization.

An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of likely voters conducted Oct. 26-28 showed 47% in support and 39% opposed to the measure. And a SurveyUSA poll conducted Oct. 27-Nov. 1 showed 61% of likely voters “certain to vote yes” and 28% of voters opposed.

If passed, the 39-page proposal would enact the following provisions:

Missourians 21 and older could possess and purchase up to 3 ounces of cannabis flower or an equivalent amount in other forms.
Individuals convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related offenses could petition to be released from incarceration and/or have their records automatically expunged.
Adults 21 and older will be allowed to home cultivate up to six mature cannabis plants after obtaining a noncommercial registration card (with no more than 12 mature cannabis plants per residence). 
A lottery to randomly select new businesses for adult-use licenses would be established.
The state’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) would regulate and oversee the adult-use cannabis market, including the licensing of cultivators, manufacturers, dispensaries and microbusiness facilities. Department officials would also promulgate regulations for testing, packaging and labeling.
The state would impose a 6% tax on adult-use cannabis sales at retail, which is projected to generate more than $40 million in annual revenue, while local governments could assess local sales taxes of up to 3% on adult-use sales.
Municipalities would have the option of limiting or banning adult-use cannabis sales within their jurisdictions if approved by voters in a local referendum.
Upon the effective date of the adult-use portion of the amendment (Dec. 8, 2022), an existing medical facility licensee may request its license be converted to a “comprehensive facility” license to participate in the expanded market. Conversion requests not processed within 60 days will be deemed approved.
Over time, Missouri’s adult-use market will add a minimum of 144 licensed facilities equally distributed among eight congressional districts. At least six of those new businesses in each district must operate as dispensaries, while the remainder will be designated as wholesale facilities, allowing operators to both cultivate and manufacture cannabis products.
Changes Missouri’s existing medical cannabis law by:Allowing nurse practitioners to issue medical cannabis recommendations to patients; Extending the amount of time that medical cannabis patient and caregiver ID cards are valid, from one year to three years, while keeping that cost at $25; Reducing the current $100 fee in half for Missourians who choose to grow medical cannabis at home, with the expiration period also extended to three years; Protecting patients from loss of parental rights, employment discrimination and “unduly burdensome” administrative penalties; andExtending reciprocity to out-of-state residents with valid medical cannabis cards. ]]>

Today could be the day that Maryland legalizes adult-use cannabis.

Voters in the Free State will have their say on Question 4, which proposes legalizing adult-use cannabis, in today's elections. The measure, which was certified in August by Secretary of State John Wobensmith, asks voters: "Do you favor the legalization of the use of cannabis by an individual who is at least 21 years of age on or after July 1, 2023, in the State of Maryland?"

Polls close at 8:30 p.m. ET.

As CBT Associate Editor Tony Lange reported, "Question 4 appears to be a shoo-in for passage with 63% of likely voters surveyed Oct. 20-23 supporting the measure, according to a poll from Baltimore Sun Media and the University of Baltimore.

That 63% figure, while a clear majority, is less enthusiastic than a Sept. 22-27 poll from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland which says 73% of registered Maryland voters approve of cannabis legalization while just 23% oppose and 4% have no opinion.

If Maryland approves of Question 4, it would become the latest East Coast state to legalize adult-use cannabis, joining New Jersey, which launched adult-use sales in April, and New York, which is expected to launch sales before the end of the year.

Arkansas voters will have their say today on Issue 4, a constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use. The state is one of five with a shot at legalization in this election.

Polls close at 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT.

Stay tuned to this page, where we will provide updates on election returns throughout the night—as well as reactions from stakeholders on the ground in Arkansas. (We'll also be following along with THV11's coverage of the Arkansas election, if you're interested in some local news angles.)

Read the full initiative below.

In 2016, Arkansas voters approved a medical cannabis initiative with 53% of the vote. Recent polling from the past few weeks suggests about 50% support for the 2022 adult-use legalization amendment, however, a notable decline from polling conducted just a few weeks prior. In part, that's because a suite of vocal opponents has come out against Issue 4 (while being fervently in support of cannabis legalization in the abstract), including Arkansas NORML, which had a hand in its own 2020 effort to legalize adult-use cannabis.

"When you control the industry, you can set the prices to whatever you want to and make people pay it," Melissa Fults of Arkansas NORML said. "[Issue 4] would also destroy the medical industry we worked so hard to build. It’s worth the risk to vote ‘No'. Something is not always better than nothing. This is not better than nothing. This is actually worse." (Fults helped write the original 2016 medical cannabis amendment.)

With cannabis reform becoming more of a bipartisan issue in recent years, some of the more traditionally conservative states are taking a stab at adult-use legalization in the Nov. 8, 2022, election.

Voters in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide the fate of cannabis reform this Election Day. In addition, Maryland’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly prepared an adult-use cannabis question for its voters, too.

Since the 1980s, voters in 22 states have decided 73 cannabis-related ballot measures.

That stretch includes Oregon’s unsuccessful decriminalization proposal (Measure 5) in 1986; California’s passage of medical cannabis legalization in 1996; Colorado and Washington’s adult-use legalization wins in 2012; and a clean, five-state sweep of reform in 2020.

To date, voters in 13 states have approved adult-use legalization measures since 2012 (although South Dakota’s 2020 passage was overturned). Another five states have the opportunity to do so this Election Day (including, once again, South Dakota).

Arkansas, where voters passed medical cannabis on a second attempt with a 53% majority in 2016, will be voting on Issue 4 this Tuesday. While early signs showed a majority in support of the initiative, pollsters from the University of Arkansas revealed Nov. 3 that 59% of likely voters surveyed Oct. 13-31 opposed the measure.

When Jackson McLeod and his team were scouting possible locations for their cannabis dispensary in 2018, they stumbled on an unlikely storefront: a six-pump gas station squatting on a main commercial strip of Portland, Maine. It seemed like the perfect fit for Atlantic Farms.

The dispensary opened in December 2018, within the gas station itself, bringing cannabis to a highly trafficked business and exemplifying the expansion of Maine’s long-running medical market at that point in time.

“It was a major differentiator for us,” says McLeod, the CEO of the business. “From the beginning, we really wanted to normalize the cannabis shopping experience.”

This was still new to Maine. Previously, the state’s caregiver program allowed for growers to sell cannabis to five patients. In 2018, however, after much hemming and hawing in the statehouse, legislators removed the guardrails and allowed caregivers to open storefronts and to grow for an unlimited number of patients. After nearly 20 years, legal medical cannabis in Maine was now set to operate as an actual commercial market.

Prior to that expansion, the Atlantic Farms team had been looking for dispensary opportunities in nearby Massachusetts, hoping to work within that state’s new adult-use framework. But the news in Maine was too good to pass up; they were from Portland, after all, and what better place to set up shop than right at home?

Now, with storefronts opening throughout the state, the actual in-store atmosphere allowed for a more nuanced and personal approach to the medical cannabis transaction. This gave McLeod and the team much to think about.

Starting next year, the New Jersey Business Action Center (NJBAC) will offer technical assistance and training to the state’s cannabis business license applicants.

NJBAC has announced that it has been designated by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) to provide these services at no cost to adult-use cannabis license applicants to ensure that those considered social equity, legacy, Impact Zone, diversely-owned and microbusiness applicants receive the support they need to succeed.

NJBAC has met with industry stakeholders throughout the state to plan content that will be introduced in the first half of 2023 as the NJBAC Cannabis Training Academy, according to the announcement.

Initial training will include a combination of pre-recorded webinars followed by live, virtual question-and-answer sessions that will be held twice a month and allow applicants to consult with mentors and receive non-legal guidance.

All classes included in the Cannabis Training Academy will be taught by faculty members who have supported, taught or consulted the cannabis industry, according to the announcement.

The National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nov. 3, urging the federal agency to approve hemp as an animal feed ingredient. 

In the letter, the NIHC referred to a virtual webinar it co-hosted with the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Aug. 9, which addressed the steps needed to approve hemp as an animal feed ingredient. 

Government regulators, veterinarians, university researchers and hemp advocates participated in the webinar, which “showed great interest and agreement on hemp’s potential as a nutritious feed source for production animals,” NIHC officials wrote.

“Part of our mission has been to promote the safe and efficient use of hemp-based animal feed for the production of livestock. The U.S. agriculture industry is struggling with a global grain shortage that is a direct result of the war in Ukraine. This has resulted in a direct increase in inputs for all domestic livestock producers of 16 percent since last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),” NIHC’s letter stated.

“From our perspective, there is no reason why the FDA hasn’t already approved hemp seed-based animal feed ingredients,” NIHC officials added. “We have seen numerous clinical trials, by Land Grant Universities and others, submitted to the FDA that all show the same outcome, that there is no transference of cannabinoids into the nation’s food supply chain from animals raised on hemp seed meal. Those results are consistent across the various species of animals, including laying hens, hogs, and dairy cattle.”

Officials noted NIHC understands the FDA’s concerns about cannabinoids entering the nation’s food supply; however, it stated that its “advocating for feeding hemp seed to animals that can contain cannabinoids.”

The Czech Republic plans to legalize adult-use cannabis alongside Germany, which announced its legalization plans late last month.

The Czech coalition government is in the process of drafting a legalization bill and aims to coordinate its approach with Germany, according to Forbes.

Draft legislation is anticipated in March 2023, with adult-use legalization coming online by January 2024, the news outlet reported.

The Czech government tapped drug commissioner Jindrich Voboril in September to draft a legalization bill, Forbes reported, and Voboril has since announced that officials are in talks with the German government about how to coordinate their proposals.

The Czech Republic decriminalized cannabis possession for personal use in 2010 and legalized medical cannabis in 2013, according to Forbes. The country has also legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp containing up to 1% THC, the news outlet reported, while other EU member states have capped hemp’s THC content at 0.2%.

Nebraska Sen. Anna Wishart isn’t giving up on medical cannabis legalization in her state.

Wishart tweeted her intentions Nov. 6, saying, “Next session I will bring another bill to legalize medical cannabis in Nebraska. Growing evidence shows benefits not only for reducing seizures and relieving pain, but it can lower the need for opioid use. It is past time Nebraskans have access to a safer alternative medicine.”

Nebraska’s 2023 legislative session is set to kick off Jan. 4.

Wishart backed a medical cannabis legalization bill last year that ultimately stalled.

Citizen-led efforts to legalize medical cannabis in Nebraska have also failed in recent years.

The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) released guidance last month that limits the sale of medical cannabis prerolls and liquid concentrates.

Regulators have clarified that medical caregivers without a storefront cannot sell prerolls or liquid concentrates, according to the Associated Press, while dispensaries must treat them like tobacco products that can only be sold to adults 21 and older.

Previously, prerolls and liquid concentrates could be sold to registered medical cannabis patients 18 and older, the news outlet reported.

Former OCP Director Erik Gundersen issued the guidance Oct. 7, on his last day in the role before leaving to launch a cannabis consulting firm.

The medical cannabis industry has largely come out against the guidance, arguing that prerolls and liquid concentrates for vaping are some of the most popular cannabis products sold through Maine’s medical and adult-use cannabis markets, according to AP.

Pennsylvania regulators approved the state’s final medical cannabis regulations Oct. 20, ushering in permanent rules for an industry that has been operating under temporary guidelines since sales launched in early 2018.

The final regulations, adopted by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission in a 4-0 vote, have raised some concern for industry stakeholders, particularly when it comes to testing.

Under Pennsylvania’s temporary medical cannabis regulations, the state’s licensed grower/processors could use one lab to test their products. Now, under the new rules, licensees must have their material tested twice by two different labs—once when the plants are harvested and a second time after the cannabis has been processed into finished products.

“That is certainly a drastic change and one which is not welcome by industry stakeholders,” says Meredith Buettner, executive director for the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC). “It’s certainly going to be challenging to implement from a grower/processor standpoint. The laboratories have serious concerns. We have, I think, program-wide concerns about if our state-mandated seed-to-sale system, MJ Freeway, is going to be able to handle the [Department of Health’s] thoughts about this.”

The root concern, Buettner says, is that many industry stakeholders doubt that the department has the statutory authority to force operators to use two separate labs for harvest testing and final product testing.